Croatia are setting their sights on targeting England striker Wayne Rooney in their World Cup qualifier on Wednesday night. Slaven Bilic, Croatia's coach, believes his players can get under the Manchester United man's skin and potentially force his mind off the game.
Rooney has been labelled as a player to stop by the Croatians and Bilic, along with chief scout Goran Vucevic, believe they must put a plan in place to do so.
"Rooney is England's real danger," said Vucevic.
"He is literally wild for the entire 90 minutes, constantly seeking contact and physical challenges. He is technically phenomenal, agile and awkward to play against.
"Lampard and Gerrard are the key for Rooney to get the ball, the right-hand side is not so crucial - whether it is Wright-Phillips or someone else."
Bilic added that a victory over England would be enormous for Croatia.
"Goran Vucevic was at England's game against Slovenia and he has helped with my preparations. He also tells me the English are calling Wednesday's game 'the clash of the titans', so we know England respect us," he said.
"Winning on Wednesday night would be like reaching Mount Everest in my career. It would be the pinnacle so far. Not just because of the injury problems we have, but also because it would help us to qualify for the World Cup."
